Blind Love (12 page)

Ben let out a breath. “Funny, that’s probably the only thing right I’ve done in a long time and since the divorce I’m not so sure I’m even good at that anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I used to read her a story and put her to bed every night when I was home. Now it’s on Wednesdays and every other weekend. The rest of the time, I’m stuck talking to her over the phone. Can’t even kiss her goodnight.”

Her heart tightened for the sadness in his voice.

“It’s not how I thought things would turn out,” he whispered.

“Why’d you leave?”

Ben took a drink of his water before he answered. “Didn’t want to. Hailey filed for divorce. When I told her I wouldn’t sign the papers and that it wasn’t right for Chloe, she asked me if Chloe was married to a man who didn’t love her, what would I want her to do.”

Lauren’s eyes heated with sadness. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is. I made mistakes that I have to live with, but I’m still Chloe’s father and
she’s
what I live for. Enough about all that, does this sandwich come with potato chips?”

Chapter Nineteen

Nana

Lauren’s words echoed through Gabe’s head, pissing him off more each time he heard them. “Stop running,” she’d said. Like she had any clue about his life and the choices he was forced to make. If he had been running, he wouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place.

The ten-foot distance between their homes did little to cool his temper. The last thing Evan needed was to see him all wound up, so he plastered a smile on his face and tried to shake off the irritation before entering the house. Seated cross-legged on the laminate floor, the little guy shoved a plastic spoonful of his favorite cereal down his mouth from a Styrofoam bowl.

A pang of guilt shot through Gabe as he looked around the empty place. The house didn’t contain a single piece of furniture, or non-disposable dishes for that matter. Not exactly the kind of place for a child to be living.

This was supposed to have been a temporary stop in his house-flipping career. The first of many investments he had hoped would give them all a more stable life.

When was the last time he had a real home? He watched the kid as the answer popped in his mind. Not since Tyler, Texas.

Was Lauren right? Had he been running?

He rubbed Sprout’s head and walked into the kitchen. Didn’t matter if she was. By the end of the summer, he’d be back in Houston for good. Hopefully the asshole who killed Autumn and ruined Evan’s life would be found before then.

Sprout gulped down the rest of his cereal-flavored milk. He wiped his mouth on his arm before tossing the bowl and spoon in the grocery bag hung on the pantry door. “I’m done, Gabe. Can I go brush Jack’s hair now?”

Gabe smiled at the changes in the little guy. Over a month of trying and all it took was a dog and a hairbrush to get him out of his shell?

The beast was good for him.

“Sure, after you brush your teeth.”

Evan shot up the stairs cheering, as if running fearlessly through the house grinning ear to ear was a daily occurrence for him.

He poured himself a bowl of marshmallow cereal and stared at it while listening to Evan recount what happened with Lauren in the backyard. Gabe shook his head at the idea of her playing the blind helpless damsel and Evan the hero. A pang of jealousy shot through him but he wasn’t sure what bugged him more, the fact that the kid was talking to her or she was talking to him.

The doorbell rang as he tossed his untouched breakfast in the trash. When Gabe opened it, his mouth went slack.

A woman with brown wavy hair stared back. She pulled off her shades and scanned him from head to toe. Lines formed on the corners of her eyes when she smiled. Funny, he hadn’t noticed those wrinkles when the woman showed up at Autumn’s funeral.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. “Hi, baby.”

Gabe stayed rigid as she squeezed. When the woman let go, she pulled him to the driveway. “Hang on. Let me tell the cabbie I’m at the right house.”

“Thank you!” She waved at the black Town Car, which pulled away, leaving behind a pile of suitcases.

“Could you get my luggage for me, sweetheart?” she drawled.

Instead, he crossed his arms and scowled. “What are you doing here?”

She copied his pose and glared back up at him. “First move my luggage and then we’ll talk.”

He picked up the three bags on the walkway and carried them to the front of the door. Instead of taking them inside, he dropped them at the entrance.

Gabe blocked the doorway and repeated his bouncer pose. “Now back to the question. What are you doing here?”

“Where’d you think I’d be?”

“In Tyler, far away from us.”

She stretched her neck and tried to look around him. “No, my baby needs me.”

His face heated. “Baby? You’ve never given me or Matt what we needed. What makes you think you can now?”

Her eyes filled. “Gabriel, you will always be my baby, but this is not about us and the mistakes I’ve made. It’s about my grandbaby.
He
needs me.”

He leaned forward to tell her she was the last person they needed when Evan screamed excitedly from inside the house.

Fuck.

“Nana!” The little guy ran to the door.

Gabe reeled in his anger and plastered a smile. Sprout and his canine shadow pushed past him and into Nana’s waiting arms.

She planted kisses on Evan’s face and held him close. “How’s my favorite grandson in the whole world doing?”

He giggled. “Silly Nana, I’m
still
your only grandson. This is Jack.”

The dog wagged its tail and sniffed her. She rubbed his head and in return the beast swiped its tongue across her cheek. “Well, hello there Jack.”

“He knows cool tricks, and can even say ‘I love you’.”

Gabe’s anger dissipated a little as he watched the two of them together. The woman genuinely loved the boy, and it was obviously mutual.

Evan grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on, I want to show you the house. It’s sooo big. I even have my own bathroom.”

His mother looked up at Gabe. He nodded his permission and picked up her luggage. Anything good for the kid, he was willing to try, even if it included his drunk of a mother.

Evan chattered the whole time, filling Nana’s ear with everything he’d done since he’d arrived in Denver. The way he described it, you’d think he’d been in town for a year instead of a day. Sprout sounded normal and happy. Gabe wondered how long it would take her to mess it all up.

After Evan headed next door to brush Jack’s hair, Gabe stared his mother down.

“If you’re here for money, I don’t have any to give.”

“I don’t want your money. If you’d check your account, you’d notice I haven’t cashed any of your checks in years,” she said as she searched through the kitchen cabinets. “Like I said, my grandbaby needs me.”

Gabe didn’t bother arguing the point. He knew she hadn’t used the money but figured he’d keep mailing it, in case she changed her mind. “How’d you find us?”

She didn’t look up, just kept writing things on a sheet of paper. “The Internet is a wonderful toy. Thing is, my car couldn’t have made the drive so I took the bus.”

Gabe pushed further, trying to figure out her angle. “He said he’s seen you a lot.”

“Of course he has. We’ve spent every summer together since he was old enough, just the two of us.”

“Why didn’t I know any of this?” he snapped.

“Autumn knew how you felt about me. Figured it was best not to stir the pot.”

When she walked into the pantry, he followed her in and shut the door. “Why would she put him around a drunk?”

His mother’s eyes flashed red before she turned away. “She didn’t. She made it clear I’d lose him if she ever caught me drinking.”

He rolled his eyes. “So every summer you’d stop? How stupid do you think I am?”

“Not stupid at all. I failed you and Matt. When you boys needed me, I wasn’t there.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “It’s something I’ll never forgive myself for. But Evan’s my second chance and I ain’t going to mess things up. He’s reason I haven’t touched the stuff in eight years.”

He leaned against the wall, stunned. He’d never heard her talk like this before. “You’re sober?”

She wiped the tears from her face. “When a mother buries her son, it makes her reassess her life. If you answered my calls, you might have known all this.”

After all these years, the woman still knew how to make him feel like a piece of shit. She walked out of the pantry and stopped in the living room, staring at the ground.

“Why is there a pillow in the middle of the floor?”

“It’s my bed.”

Her brows raised. “A pillow? No sheets or blankets?”

“Haven’t had a chance to do laundry.”

She chuckled. “Let me guess, no machine.”

Gabe sat on the floor as his mother poked her head into everything and hummed to herself. Was it possible she’d changed? The Autumn he remembered was protective as hell of the ones she loved. She’d never leave Evan with a drunk. His mom sober would be the only real explanation of why Autumn allowed Evan anywhere near the woman, wouldn’t it?

When she finally sat, Gabe tried to make small talk. “What have you been doing?”

“Working. I got my associates degree and a job at the county hospital. They’re a nice group of people. When I told them about Autumn’s murder, they helped me get my leave of absence. I would have come sooner but it took me a bit to get the paperwork done.”

He shook his head and tried to understand how the woman in front of him was the same one who holed herself up in her bedroom for most of his life.

“Any particular reason why there’s no furniture?”

“Never planned on actually living here.”

“Well, does Evan at least have a bed?”

“He’s got an air mattress, but the sheets are dirty so he’s using my sleeping bag until I can get them washed.”

“Right, ’cause you don’t own a washer.”

Gabe grinned. “Yeah.”

“Where am I going to sleep?”

“Hadn’t planned for you.”

“No worries. Here.” She handed him the paper.

He looked at the three-column list she had been working on. “What’s this?”

“Things you need to buy.”

“And why would I?”

“Because you haven’t seen your momma in eight years and you’re a good boy who takes care of the people he loves.” She hugged him and this time he squeezed back. His mother sniffled. “I’ve missed you, son.”

“How long are you staying?” Gabe asked still holding on to her and feeling stupid for doing it.

“As long as you’ll tolerate me.”

She traced a finger along his biceps. “You got a tattoo. Any more of them? Or piercings I need to know about? Working at the hospital, I’ve seen a lot of interesting body parts folks get poked and inked.”

Gabe laughed. “I’m a grown man, you’re not allowed to ask me things like that.”

When she opened her mouth to answer, he squeezed her arm. “I’ll go get these things. And so we’re clear, there are three beers in the fridge. If one of them’s touched, you’re gone.”

Instead of being intimidated, she grinned. “Understood.”

“Dinner in fifteen minutes, boys,” his mom announced from the kitchen.

“Yay!” Evan cheered. The two “boys” were currently playing a mean game of Uno.

Gabe pretended to be offended. “The mac and cheese dinner I’ve been making every day for the past month wasn’t good enough?”

The little guy’s eyes widened, reminding Gabe the boy still had a long way to go. “But I don’t blame you. Your nana’s meatloaf is the best.”

He relaxed and grinned.

Nana poked her head out from the kitchen. “And my desserts are pretty darn good too. Tonight, we’ll do strawberries and whipped cream.”

Evan beamed. “This is the best day ever.”

Gabe glanced over at Sprout and his throat tightened. The best day would have been if Autumn was still alive and with them. Jack barked from the backyard.

“Can I go out and play?”

“Fifteen minutes.” Before he could say anything more, the kid was out the door.

As he cleaned up the last of the cards, Jack’s barking grew louder. Gabe looked out the window and scanned the yard until he found Evan. The cards in his hands fell and the door slammed shut behind him as he ran outside.

Evan sat huddled in a ball in the far corner and, from the way his body heaved, was in the middle of a panic attack. A bad one.

By the time Gabe covered half the distance to him, Lauren was kneeling in front of the child. She talked softly while her hands sandwiched his cheeks and her forehead pressed against his.

Gabe’s mother grabbed his arm and stopped him from going further. “Don’t. She knows what she’s doing.”

He nodded and tried to slow down his heart. Evan had been doing so well. What set him back? A quick scan of the area and he found his answer.

Ben stood a few feet away with his arms crossed and, unlike yesterday, he was now dressed in his police blues. What was it about uniformed officers that scared the kid?

When their eyes met, Gabe got the feeling Ben was asking himself the same question.

He turned his attention back to the child and what he saw made his mouth drop. Her forehead and hands still glued to the boy’s, she was whispering to him and wiping his tears away. Both of their chests rose and lowered simultaneously. With each second she worked her magic, Sprout visibly relaxed. Not only was the woman beautiful, she was amazing.

When they finally rose from the ground, Evan put his hand in hers. She leaned over and said something in his ear. He took a deep breath and nodded. With Jack and Lauren on either side, the three walked over to what caused the attack in the first place.

Gabe inched forward and his mother squeezed his arm tighter.

“Officer Ben, this is Evan. Evan, this is Officer Ben,” Lauren said.

The little guy hesitated and looked over at Gabe. His fists clenched at the fear in Sprout’s face but he stayed rooted and nodded his encouragement.

Ben squatted down on one knee and smiled at Sprout. “It’s great to meet you. I’m sorry if I scared you.” He stuck out his hand.

Evan didn’t reciprocate.

Instead, Ben squeezed Sprout’s shoulder. “Do you like lollipops?”

The little guy bobbed his head.

“Hmm, Lauren, what flavor do you think a cool kid like Evan would like?” He stuck his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out a handful of them.

“Good question. I bet if you ask, he might answer,” she replied and rubbed the back of Evan’s neck.

The little guy leaned forward and looked through the different colored wrappers. He cleared his throat and pointed at one.

“Blueberry it is. How about a handshake first to make it official?”

He promptly shook the man’s hand and was rewarded with the sucker.

Evan grinned and even said thank you.

All the muscles in Gabe’s body finally started to unwind as he watched their interaction. Evan had never been able to be in the same room much less talk to an officer until today. Lauren and her ex-husband worked well together. The thought made him tense all over again. How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

After coming in from outside, Evan ran up for a bath, still talking about the cool Officer Ben. Gabe grabbed a beer and leaned against the kitchen counter, deep in thought about Lauren and her ex.